MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Mason City man has been sentenced to up to 50 years in prison after his conviction of killing a woman who was hit by a bullet he fired through his apartment door. A judge Tuesday sentenced 61-year-old Larry Whaley, who was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Samantha Teeter.

Whaley has said he fired into the door Dec. 2, 2016, because he believed two people he knew were breaking into his apartment, including one who Whaley said he felt threatened by the week before the shooting. Whaley said Teeter was not one of those two people and that her death was an accident.

State law requires Whaley to serve at least 35 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.